Arcadia Bestsellers

Camp Forrest was a training, induction, and combatant prisoner-of-war (POW) facility located on the outskirts of Tullahoma, Tennessee.

It was a self-sustaining city where over 70,000 soldiers were stationed and approximately 12,000 civilians were employed throughout World War II. In 1942, the camp transitioned to an enemy alien internment camp and was one of the first civilian internment camps in the United States. By the middle of 1943, it had transitioned into a POW camp and housed primarily German and Italian prisoners. After the war ended, the base was decommissioned and dismantled in 1946. In 1951, the area was recommissioned and expanded into the US Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Complex. Few remains of this important World War II facility exist today; however, the images within provide a glimpse into the effects and realities of a global war on American soil.

Visit the Back of the Yards neighborhood and setting for Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.

The Back of the Yards neighborhood, located in back of the Union Stockyards and composed of Packingtown, Town of Lake, and New City, was the setting of Upton Sinclair's classic 1906 novel, The Jungle. Permeated by an unforgettable smell, Back of the Yards was a melting pot of immigrants, many who worked in the stockyards. In 1894, Mary McDowell started the University of Chicago Settlement House in Back of the Yards. She improved living conditions and in 1905 helped create Davis Square Park. The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council was founded in 1939 by Joseph Meegan, Saul Alinsky, and Bishop Bernard Sheil and is America's oldest not for profit community based organization. It consisted of 185 delegate organizations involving residents, business owners, churches, parks, schools, and social clubs that worked to advocate improvements. The council motto continues on as We the people will work out our own destiny. Relive the bustling activity and the lives of the people in the neighborhood through the historic images in Back of the Yards.

For a city that only incorporated to pass legislation about unruly hogs, Dunedin has experienced more than a century of progress, struggle, and success.

In 1878, when two Scottish merchants were granted a petition to open a post office in their small unincorporated Florida community, they were also given the privilege of naming the area. They called it Dunedin, the Gaelic word for Edinburgh, their Scottish home. The town only incorporated officially in 1899 due to conflicts among residents about hogs roaming the streets. From the ineffective "hog law'? to the development of romantic "Honeymoon Island,'? now preserved as a state park, Dunedin's history is full of interesting stories, people, and images. The beautiful oak-lined streets, the yachting clubs and competitions, and the development of the citrus and fishing industries in Dunedin are all an integral part of the area's rich heritage.

Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was founded after the Civil War as a great experiment: a nonsectarian, coeducational institution where any person can find instruction in any study.

In the mid-19th century, there were only a handful of colleges that accepted women and even fewer that were nonsectarian. The university charter specifically states that persons of every religious denomination or of no religious denomination, shall be equally eligible to all offices and appointments. Today, with colleges of hotel management and labor relations added to the more traditional majors in liberal arts, engineering, business, agriculture, and architecture, Cornell - both an Ivy League university and state land-grant college - truly offers a diverse program of study for a diverse collection of students.

Best known for  Baby Boom-era housing developments that transformed potato fields and orchards into suburban sprawl, East Meadow’s past is full of fascinating long-forgotten events.

• Rediscover violent feuds of jealous farmers, such as the love triangles of the 19th century Brower clan.
• Marvel at the unlikely escapades of eccentric millionaire Jacques Lebaudy, who believed he was a sovereign emperor while living in a Gilded Age Salisbury estate.  
• Explore the exponential growth of one of New York's original school districts, full of political interference and drama that climaxed with a Pete Seeger performance sanctioned by the Court of Appeals of the State of New York

Their history is richly illustrated and narrated in Hadley and Lake Luzerne. Inside are rare photographs of loggers on drives down the river, famous visitors at the Wayside Inn, early horse racing, and a big boulder that became part of a building known as the Beehive.

Through rare photos and archival materials, discover Boston University's brilliant past that exemplifies Learning, Virtue, and Piety.

Most universities begin with a plot of land on which to build. This was not the case with Boston University. Founded originally in Newbury, Vermont, in 1839, the school moved to Concord, New Hampshire, in 1847 and finally took root in Boston in 1867. The university developed seven schools and colleges within the first few years, with more to come later. Located in the center of a vibrant city, Boston University has become the fourth largest independent university in the nation. In Boston University, follow the development of the school as it grew and changed over one hundred and sixty years. Through vintage images, learn about the Boston University School of Oratory, where the telephone was invented; the Massachusetts Agricultural College, in the heart of the city; and subterranean passages in some of the earliest buildings. Find out about the ghost that haunted one campus building and why the institution was not named Rich University for one of its founders and most generous donors.

For over one hundred years people have been coming to Atlantic City to swim in the ocean, walk on the boardwalk, and get away from their day-to-day lives.....

Return to the halcyon days of the sand and sun as local writers and long-time locals present stories from Atlantic City's heartwarming past.

Founded in 1768 at the crossing of two Indian trails, Charlotte has a rich heritage to match its age. Hear the personal voices of discovery, hardship, wars, privation, segregation and achievement from village to boomtown.

In this extensively researched volume, accomplished author and historian Mary Kratt chronicles the history of Charlotte from the earliest Catawba inhabitants to the development of finance, culture and transportation, still centered on those ancient crossroads. Whether detailing the cotton fields and textile mills of yesterday or the banking center of tomorrow, Kratt's account is a fascinating history of the people who have made Charlotte a queen among southern cities.

Through historic images, discover the towns of Phelps and Conover nestled in the wooded forests, rolling hills, and lakes of the Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest.

Dating back to the Ojibwa, this region was noted for its dense forests, relying on the many rivers and lakes as the highway for travel until the introduction of the railroad and roadways in the late 1800s. By 1900, businessmen Hackley, Phelps, and Bonnell had journeyed from Chicago, landing in what would later be named Phelps, with prospects of a mill and a community. Shortly thereafter, Conover would take its name from Seth Conover. Conover, a prominent cheese buyer, would inspire the construction of a train station in the very location he traveled to for several years to follow his passion for hunting and fishing. Surrounded by some of the greatest recreational and fishing lakes as well as the mill and lumber industry, the towns of Conover and Phelps continued to flourish. The railroad bustled tourists from the cities to enjoy a piece of the serenity that continues to reside in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

Starting in San Francisco in 1854, the California State Fair and Exposition began as a vehicle to showcase, encourage, and expand California's agricultural industry.

In vivid historical images, step into Norwalk's past and discover a new part of Long Island history

Located on the shores of Long Island Sound, Norwalk's close proximity to New York City prompted the building of many summer residences and guest cottages along its coast. In the summer, steamships and trolleys arrived with passengers looking to enjoy the local amusement park, Roton Point. Norwalk's earliest industries included farming as well as mills powered by its rivers. The area has been famous for its pottery, oystering, and hat manufacturing. Over time, this community has endured disasters; it was burned during the American Revolution, and the flood of 1955 wiped out much of the Wall Street area as well as several bridges on the Norwalk River. Norwalk shares vintage images from the mid-1800s through the 1960s, highlighting memorable sites such as Old MacDonald's Farm and the Melton Automobile Museum. The revitalization of Norwalk's downtown areas proves it is possible to respect the past and those that came before through the renewal of historical architecture.

Although war was traditionally the purview of men, the realities of America’s Civil War often brought women into the conflict. They served as nurses, sutlers, and washerwomen. Some even disguised themselves as men and joined the fight on the battlefield. In the border state of Missouri, where Southern sympathies ran deep, women sometimes clashed with occupying Union forces because of illegal, covert activities like spying, smuggling, and delivering mail. When caught and arrested, the women were often imprisoned or banished from the state. In at least a couple of cases, they were even sentenced to death. Join award-winning author Larry Wood as he chronicles the misadventures and ordeals of the lady rebels of Missouri.

From backroad barns to big city spots with a line around the block, Jason Weems sets Texans up with the recipe for a successful barbecue-centric adventure

From the bayous of the east to the dusty deserts of the west, embark on a journey through the countless smokehouses, roadhouses, and BBQ food trucks that line the backroads and main streets of Texas. Dive into a history that dates back to treasure hungry conquistadors and swashbuckling buccaneers. Learn what divides the state into five main flavor regions and read your plate of BBQ like a roadmap through history. Author Jason Weems journeyed over 3500 miles around the highways and byways of Texas to bring you a guide that’s dripping with pro-tips and sizzling with backstory.

An engaging history of the beginnings of Lansing's R.E. Olds.

Upon the dedication of a new Capitol building in 1879, the city of Lansing was just beginning to emerge from the swampy wilderness of its recent past. As industry began to take root along the banks of the Grand River, Ransom Eli Olds brought his father's motor shop to national prominence with advancements in gasoline and steam engines, and then horseless carriages. By the early 20th century, Oldsmobile became the world's first mass producer of automobiles and Olds had moved on to found a second car company, making Lansing the first Auto City. Through these efforts, Olds rose to become one of the nation's greatest industrialists and entrepreneurs. Using primary documents and historical images, this book traces the industrial history of the Capital City within the context of one of the 20th century's greatest entrepreneurs, R.E.

With this unprecedented pictorial history, author John Hairr chronicles the story of Harnett County, beginning with the earliest days of settlement till the mid-twentieth century.

Maps and charts show the growth of the county and various industries, while photographs illustrate various communities, people, and events that changed the region. Within these pages, over 200 vintage photographs are proudly presented. Many of these images have never before been published. All of the towns and communities throughout Harnett—Erwin, Lillington, Johnsonville, Kipling, Duncan, Dunn, Olivia, Coats, Angier, Chalybeate Springs, and Bunnlevel—are represented within the work, as are several striking rural scenes. Readers visit old-time iron mines, tobacco farms, and denim manufacturers. Other views show the making of moonshine, naval stores, railroads and aviation, churches that no longer stand, and a host of people who have shaped the history of Harnett.

One of the unsung heroes of the auto world, C. Harold Wills designed the Model T when he worked as Henry Ford's right-hand man.

Later, he founded his own company to produce the legendary Wills Sainte Claire. Every endeavor displayed his trademark inventiveness, from the development of the overhead cam engine to the toboggan run on the roof of his house. He used his money to create one of the first worker model cities at Marysville, Michigan. In this long-overdue biography, Alan and Lynn Lyon Naldrett preserve the legacy of an automotive icon.

A history of bygone eateries in downtown Cleveland featuring everything from diners to fine dining

From humble and hungry beginnings, the city of Cleveland grew over centuries until it boasted a dizzying array of gustatory choices. City dwellers and travelers alike flocked to the eateries at Public Square and Terminal Tower, including the Fred Harvey restaurants with their famous Harvey Girls. A single block-long street, Short Vincent featured the Theatrical Grille, the longest-running jazz joint in the area. The walls of Otto Moser's were a veritable Hollywood roll call, and the New York Spaghetti House offered a complete dining and aesthetic experience.

Fill your cup with the libation of your choice, grab a snack, and join author Bette Lou Higgins on a historical tour of the restaurants that kept Clevelanders fed.

During his career as an actor, William Gillette portrayed world-renowned character Sherlock Holmes in more than 1,300 performances.

His career as a playwright and actor afforded him the opportunity to purchase a 184-acre estate, where he also built a twenty-four-room medieval-style castle. Overlooking the Connecticut River, Gillette's castle was complete with spy mirrors, sliding furniture, hidden rooms and a three-mile quarter-scale railroad. Since becoming a state park in 1943, it has evolved into one of Connecticut's most popular tourist attractions. Writer and award-winning journalist Erik Ofgang examines the history of an iconic structure and Gillette's life and role in the evolution of Sherlock Holmes.

See how Conensus Lake has grown to become a Finger Lakes tourist hotspot.

Conesus Lake is the westernmost of the 11 Finger Lakes. Often referred to as one of the Little Fingers, it is located about 25 miles south of Rochester, New York. In 1924, the City of Rochester announced plans to use Conesus Lake to supplement the water supply for its residents. A year later, cottagers around the lake successfully banded together to protect Conesus's sparkling waters and preserve the area as a summer resort.

Over time, the lake area has grown, and restaurants, taverns, campgrounds, and amusement parks have sprung up from the demand of the lake's many visitors. Today, four towns—Geneseo, Groveland, Conesus, and Livonia—border the approximate 18 miles of shoreline.

The innovative Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge, was constructed to connect the cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey.

For a time after its opening on July 1, 1926, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 1,750 feet. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge contains many rarely seen images of the bridge's planning and construction, the individuals who helped make the concept of the bridge a reality, and the workers who built it. The bridge has undergone many changes in the decades since its opening, and these vintage photographs trace its evolution, illustrating the bridge's endurance as a symbol of the Philadelphia-Camden metropolitan area.

Wicked Coeur d’Alene recounts the violent conflict and lascivious mischief in the town's early years.

Newspapers echo accounts of desperate gamblers, prostitutes and prospectors who did everything they could to secure their own future—at all costs. Town druggist Mr. Salis Smith concocted medicine composed of 50 percent alcohol mixed with cocaine or opium for the despondent. Characters like Bootleg Mary or murderous Fatty Carroll, notorious for employing shallow graves, populate dark tales of hushed murders, illegal gambling and corrupt politics. From bloody mining disputes to outlaw train robberies, author Deborah Cuyle recounts the sordid, salacious and sinful sides of Lake City’s past.

Early settler William Smith chose a ridge with a commanding view, and Corydon was founded at the thriving population center of the Indiana Territory.

Located at the confluence of Big and Little Indian Creeks, Smith was comfortably settled around 1800. Territorial governor William Henry Harrison was a frequent guest, giving his name to the county that was later established. Corydon eclipsed Clarksville to become the territorial capital when the Illinois Territory was cut away in 1813, leaving the previous capital at Vincennes on the extreme western boundary of the Indiana Territory. Indiana became the 19th state on December 11, 1816. In 1827, William Holmes McGuffey (of McGuffey's Readers fame) recommended William Porter for headmaster of the Corydon Seminary. Porter went on to become a judge and bought the Gov. William Hendricks residence. Porter's daughter Helen married Patrick Griffin and raised her family in the house where she had been born. Maurice Griffin raised his family on the square, where his son Frederick Porter Griffin resided until arranging for the Hendricks house to become part of the Corydon Capitol State Historic Site. The Porter-Griffin family photographs, now housed in the Frederick Porter Griffin Center, made this book possible.

Martha Giddens Nesbit provides a contemporary take on Savannah food and parties with a casual appeal. Photographed in and around beautiful historic and modern homes in the city and at Tybee Beach, these great party dishes enhance traditional and fun Savannah celebrations. Chapters include a birthday dinner, christening party, oyster roast, Christmas dinner, and more.

Become a part of history with this interactive book about George Washington!

From the documents that drafted a nation to hand written notes from George Washington himself, this book is a treasure trove of historical information. Opening with a detailed description of Washington's death from a common infection and his harrowing final moments, each chapter is meticulously researched and documented with reference material and fascinating details of Washington's life. Inside hidden pockets and envelopes are documents, letters, and interesting facts guaranteed to keep even the most jaded readers enthralled as they learn about one of America's founding fathers and the first president of the United States.

Utilizing remarkable images from the Manning Brothers Historical Collection, the Michigan Opera Theatre Archives, and several additional collections, Michael Hauser and Marianne Weldon have captured the excitement of the shared entertainment experience in Detroit Opera House.

The theater known today as the Detroit Opera House has been an integral part of the city’s culture and history as well as the live entertainment industry. Its existence has been threatened in the past, but it has survived wars, the Great Depression, civil unrest, economic meltdowns, the abandonment of downtown, and, most recently, a pandemic. Generations of patrons have fond, vivid memories of attending films, stage presentations, or events with family and friends as it transitioned from the Broadway Capitol to the Paramount to the Grand Circus to the Detroit Opera House. The reason for building these “temples of amusement” was to literally transport a guest into another world, and the Detroit Opera House has valiantly fulfilled that task. What began as an idea by David DiChiera, founder of Michigan Opera Theatre, the owner and operator of today’s Detroit Opera House, blossomed into a magnificent performing arts center with its formal opening in 1996.

Hauser is marketing manager for the Detroit Opera House, and Weldon is the collections manager for art and artifacts at Bryn Mawr College.

The Baltimore African-American community, with its well-known personalities and cultural contributions have made the town what it is today.

Throughout the years, the city of Baltimore has played host to many well-known figures, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and boxer Joe Louis; the city has been called home by Billie Holiday, Frederick Douglass, and Thurgood Marshall. But it is the local African-American community's members, working diligently to advance and empower themselves, who made history while they lived it.

An award-winning barbecue cook serves up generous helpings of culinary history and lore, along with authentic recipes for this famous Southern dish.

With roots in Native American, African and European cooking traditions, Brunswick stew developed in colonial- and Federal-era Virginia, when squirrel was a necessary ingredient. By the nineteenth century, the mouthwatering delicacy had become an important part of politicking, celebrating and family gatherings. At the same time, it spread beyond Virginia, following barbecue culture into the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, author and Brunswick stew expert Joe Haynes entertains with barbecue stew history, legend and lore, complete with authentic recipes.

Discover the rich history of Moravians in North Carolina through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

Members of the Moravian Church who settled in North Carolina were meticulous record keepers, documenting almost every aspect of their day-to-day lives. A significant part of those records is preserved in the form of photographs. Moravian photographers-both professional and amateur-created an enduring legacy by capturing their society and surroundings in faithful detail. Their photographs, which record the towns of Bethabara, Bethania, Salem, Friedberg, Hope, and Friedland, as well as other communities throughout the state, provide a rare glimpse into the historic world of Moravian life in North Carolina.

Labor conflicts, arrests, espionage—it was all there at the once ubiquitous mills of Fulton County.

Employee records and snatches of paper prove workers spied on each other. Company owners were paranoid about labor unions taking over. Copious documentation, unearthed here by author Lisa M. Russell, brings the workaday drama back to life. These mills sustained families, but exploitation was far from uncommon. When mill workers finally went on strike, there was hell to pay. The company bosses yanked strikers from their shacks. With the help of Governor Talmadge, the National Guard arrested working women with their children. They marched these criminals to a former WWI prisoner of war camp that once held enemy German soldiers. Hard to believe this was happening in and around Atlanta in the early 1900s.

George Washington was first and foremost a Virginian. Born in the state's Tidewater region, he was reared near Fredericksburg and took up residence at Mount Vernon along the Potomac River.

As a young surveyor, he worked in Virginia's backcountry. He began his military career as a Virginia militia officer on the colony's frontier. The majority of his widespread landholdings were in his native state, and his entrepreneurial endeavors ranged from the swamplands of the Southeast to the upper Potomac River Valley. Historian John Maass explores the numerous sites all over the Commonwealth associated with Washington and demonstrates their lasting importance.

Discover how Fayetteville went from being a small town called Washington Courthouse only to bloom into one of Arkansas' largest and most vital cities.

The town of Fayetteville was originally known as Washington Courthouse and prospered during its first two decades, until it suffered decimation during the Civil War as troops moved throughout the region. In 1871, Fayetteville successfully bid to be home to the University of Arkansas, the state's first public university. Today, the city represents a cultural convergence, with remnants of historic trails such as the Military Road between St. Louis and Fort Smith and the Trail of Tears. Author and historian Charlie Alison details pivotal events that shaped the city.

For more than 200 years, Gainesville, Georgia, has been the trading and business center for Northeast Georgia's mountain region.

Its character dictated by rugged mountain terrain and independent, self-reliant people, Gainesville entertains a uniquehistory quite different from the traditional plantation culture of the American South. Celebrated within these pages are the people and places of this ""Queen City of the Mountains."" With images culled primarily from the Hall County Library and the Archives of the State of Georgia, Gainesville: 1900-2000 captures the memories of the twentieth century on the eve of the millennium. From its days as the ""Great Health Resort of the South"" to its transition into a metropolitan community, Gainesville has experienced enormous growth and change. Included in this collection are images of the disastrous 1936 tornado that swept through the city, the mills that were active in the early 1900s, and the poultry industry that became a dominanteconomic force in Gainesville. Residents will delight in the early photographs of the town square that reflect a simpler way of life.

Join veteran journalist Chris Wadsworth and Allison Fortuna from the Bonita Springs Historical Society as they recount the history of Bonita Springs and its beginnings.

The pioneer history of Bonita Springs stretches back to the 1880s, when an Alabama cotton planter named B. B. Comer bought 6,000 acres of land along Surveyors Creek. He started a tropical fruit plantation, and his tiny village became known as Survey, in honor of the U.S. Army engineers who had first surveyed the region during the Seminole Wars decades before. When Florida started to boom in the early 20th century, investors bought up much of the land in the area. They quickly gave the community the more attractive moniker Bonita Springs and renamed the nearby creek the Imperial River. Beautiful beaches and world-class hunting and fishing soon turned Bonita Springs into a tourist mecca. Popular roadside attractions sprang up along the fast-growing Tamiami Trail, including the Everglades Wonder Gardens, the original Shell Factory, and the famous Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track.